David Urbansky

(1843 - 1897)

David Urbansky (also spelled Orbansky) was a Jewish American soldier who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in honor of his valor during the American Civil War.

Born in Lautenburg, Prussia (modern-day Poland), Urbansky emigrated to the United States at some point before the American Civil War broke out. The service record states that Urbansky entered the army as a private in the 58th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on October 28, 1861, was detailed to the Corps Commissary Department on September 10, 1863, and was mustered out on January 14, 1865.

Urbansky earned the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for his gallantry in action against enemy Confederate forces in the Battle of Shiloh (Tennessee) in 1862 and again at the Siege of Vicksburg (Mississippi) in 1863. His service record records that Urbansky's original medal was lost and that a new one was issued in 1879.

David Urbansky died January 22, 1897, and was buried in Columbus, Ohio.